Pankhurst C L, Johnson N W, Woods R G
King's College Dental Institute, London, UK.
Int Dent J. 1998 Aug;48(4):359-68. doi: 10.1111/j.1875-595x.1998.tb00697.x.
The quality of dental unit water is of considerable importance since patients and dental staff are regularly exposed to water and aerosols generated from the dental unit. The unique feature of dental chair water lines is the capacity for rapid development of a biofilm on the dental water supply lines combined with the generation of potentially contaminated aerosols. The biofilm, which is derived from bacteria in the incoming water and is intrinsically resistant to most biocides, then becomes the primary reservoir for continued contamination of the system. Dental water may become heavily contaminated with opportunistic respiratory pathogens such as Legionella and Mycobacterium spp. The significance of such exposure to patients and the dental team is discussed. There is at the present time, no evidence of a widespread public health problem from exposure to dental unit water. Nevertheless, the goal of infection control is to minimise the risk from exposure to potential pathogens and to create a safe working environment in which to treat patients. This paper evaluates the range of currently available infection control methods and prevention strategies which are designed to reduce the impact of the biofilm on dental water contamination, and are suitable for use in general practice. Bacterial load in dental unit water can be kept at or below recommended guidelines for drinking water (less than 200 colony forming units/ml) using a combination of readily available measures and strict adherence to maintenance protocols. Sterile water should be employed for all surgical treatments.
牙科设备用水的质量至关重要，因为患者和牙科工作人员经常接触牙科设备产生的水和气溶胶。牙科椅水线的独特之处在于，牙科供水管道上的生物膜能够迅速形成，同时还会产生潜在污染的气溶胶。生物膜源自进入水中的细菌，对大多数杀菌剂具有内在抗性，随后成为系统持续污染的主要源头。牙科用水可能会被嗜肺军团菌和分枝杆菌等机会性呼吸道病原体严重污染。本文讨论了这种接触对患者和牙科团队的影响。目前，没有证据表明接触牙科设备用水会引发广泛的公共卫生问题。然而，感染控制的目标是将接触潜在病原体的风险降至最低，并营造一个安全的工作环境来治疗患者。本文评估了目前可用的一系列感染控制方法和预防策略，这些方法旨在减少生物膜对牙科用水污染的影响，适用于一般牙科实践。通过综合采用现成的措施并严格遵守维护规程，牙科设备用水中的细菌负荷可保持在或低于饮用水推荐标准（每毫升少于200个菌落形成单位）。所有外科治疗均应使用无菌水。
